Jeollanam-do news and notes.

Here are a couple little blurbs about Jeollanam-do that have been in the news recently. I don't feel like writing a bunch of different posts, especially since I've got a ton more coming up this week.

** We learned two weeks ago that Jindo wanted to register its shamanistic rite as a UNESCO World Heritage, and now Jeollanam-do's dinosaur fossil sites are pushing for World Natural Heritage designation. Five sites in the province are regionally well-known for having fossilized bones, eggs, and footprints, and there are dinosaur museums and tourist sites in Haenam and Suncheon, among other places. The Korea Times has the story; an excerpt:

Prof. Huh Min, from Chonnam National University and director of the Korea Dinosaur Research Center, is initiating the campaign. He stressed that having a natural heritage is somewhat different from having a cultural site. Korea has eight cultural sites, including old palaces.

``Unlike cultural sites featuring their comparative value to different cultures, the natural sites have to be the `only one' valuable to the world. It has to be academically, culturally, and in every way the best in the world,'' he said.

To receive the UNESCO Natural Heritage listing, support from local residents and the administrations is critical. The preparation committee has established safe and protective pathways for visitors as well as straightened roads to preclude any possible destruction of the sites. ``We have streamlined the region,'' Huh said.

Preparation has been underway for more than three years, and he expects UNESCO inspectors to recognize the value and importance of the ``Korean Cretaceous Dinosaur Coast.''

And a little more:

``We have seen dinosaurs in Western movies such as Jurassic Park and picture books. But here, we also had flying reptiles, and all kinds of dinosaurs walking, drinking, laying eggs and living just like any other creature,'' he said.

Um . . . okay. On the topic of dinosaurs and tourism, I saw a "Jurassic Adventure" bus in Suncheon last week with the Jurassic Park logo. I didn't know they were filming the latest installment in Jeollanam-do. *cough*

** Jindo county built the country's largest statue of national hero Yi Sun-shin, and unveiled it on October 11th.

It took three years and 1.8 million dollars to build the giant statue of Korea's favorite war hero. The statue is 30 meters high and is a dynamic and realistic portrayal of Yi in battle. The eyes of the statue are directed at the Pacific Ocean.
A county official said Nokjin-li will be developed into a leading tourist attraction of the South Jeolla province.

** I wrote on Friday about the consultations that are going to be held at immigration offices around the country. Though the Korea Times story came out the same day as the Gwangju meeting, somebody in Gwangju told me that they sent out invitations to foreigners registered through the immigration office . . . invitations in Korean. Ms. Parker commented that all hell broke lose, sort of, last year when some in attendance actually asked questions of the presenter. Like I said it's a nice gesture, but since immigration policies vary from location to location and person to person, it's unlikely any answers will come from it.

** A lighthouse in Wando dating to 1909 will be restored in anticipation of its 100th birthday. Another colonial-era lighthouse of note is located in Yeongsan-po, Naju, a formerly-significant town home to quite a few examples of Japanese architecture.

** There's a childrens' museum scheduled to open in Gwangju in 2012. A minor error, but Gwangju is a city, not a province. Not as bad as the atlas I saw at my university that had it labelled as "Gwangyu." I was going to do a post about that back in August and alert the proper authorities to this gross distortion of Korean culture and history.

** This article doesn't make any sense, but apparently there's renewed debate on the constitutionality of the death penalty. You'll see people sentenced to death every once in a while, but as the article says the last executions were carried out in 1997. The article makes mention of the 70-year-old man who killed four people in Boseong last year---and probably more over the years---who was appealling his death sentence.

** In case you weren't aware, Gwangju is billing itself as "Hub City of Asian Culture."

** I had a neat little surprise on Saturday while watching a little report on the Namdo Food Festival. I was on TV for like three seconds as they were filming the guy make art out of melted sugar. I tried to track it down online but I haven't had any luck. As far as I can tell, though, I made it through the Kimchi Festival without attracting any attention.